The Cardinals Way: How One Team Embraced Tradition and Moneyball at the Same Time

By Howard Megdal

Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin’s Press

The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the great franchises in baseball, and they are in the midst of one of the most successful periods in their history.

They have made the playoffs in each of the past five seasons. In that time, they won the World Series in 2011, made it back to the Fall Classic in 2013, and reached the National League Championship Series twice, losing to San Francisco both times, in 2012 and 2014.

Howard Megdal takes an extensive look into their history, dating back to the days of Branch Rickey a century ago, in The Cardinals Way.

“Coming on the heels of Tony LaRussa’s 2011 World Series championship in his final season, the Cardinals have put together the kind of sustained success that is rare in baseball, drawing all kinds of attention and a simple question. How are they doing it?

The St. John’s Red Storm announced their men’s basketball out-of-conference schedule on Thursday.

The Red Storm has a 13-game docket lined up against non-league opponents in 2016-17, and it includes marquee contests in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Gavitt Tipoff Games, and a road game with longtime rival Syracuse.

The first couple months of the season features seven local dates and appearances in three of New York City’s boroughs.

In his quest to build the Nets into a model franchise, General Manager Sean Marks has stressed how he wants his team to be the leader in scouting in the United States and beyond.

Marks furthered that goal on Monday when he named Gianluca Pascucci as director of global scouting and BJ Johnson as coordinator of player evaluation.

“We are thrilled to add Gianluca and BJ to our front office,” said Marks. “Collectively, they bring valuable experiences that cross many platforms and their extensive knowledge of both the NBA and the global game will be tremendous assets to our scouting department. Both will be excellent additions to our culture and we are excited about welcoming them to Brooklyn.”

(Alex Muyl of the Red Bulls trying to gain position with the tough field conditions – @NewYorkRedBulls)

The Red Bulls earned a 2-2 draw with DC United in the nation’s capital on Sunday afternoon to extend their MLS unbeaten streak to eight games.

The match started on time, but a lightning delay was called for in the 10th minute. It would be approximately 73 minutes before play resumed.

Red Bulls Head Coach Jesse Marsch used the time in the delay wisely, and he spoke of what he told his team in the locker room, “The main thing I said is that I didn’t think we were up for the competitive challenge. D.C. started the game winning so many of the little battles and I reminded them that this is what the game was going to be, especially on a wet day. I had to remind them that last time we came down here we had a terrible match and that I can cheerlead all I want, but we need them to understand internally how to handle that.”

In the battle of the European stars, New York City Football Club beat the LA Galaxy 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

These are arguably the two highest-profile teams in the MLS, as NYCFC boasts Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, and David Villa, while Los Angeles has Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, and Ashley Cole.

This was the first time the number 8’s, English national teammates Lampard and Gerrard, faced each other in the MLS. For years, they battled in the English Premier League when Lampard’s Chelsea and Gerrard’s Liverpool vied for titles.

“It’s normal, we’re used to it. It was Lampard versus Gerrard in the England team, it was Chelsea-Liverpool for many a year. I love it,” Lampard said of his rivalry with Gerrard ahead of the match. “I think we’re more relaxed about it and we can enjoy it more these days.”

NYCFC came out strong, especially Lampard, who was looking to make something happen when he was taken down by a Galaxy defender in the box in the fifth minute. To his dismay, there was no call.

A minute later, NYCFC crashed the net, as Ronald Matarrita got off a shot, which deflected off Galaxy goaltender Clement Diop, and Villa slipped by two defenders to score.

The New York Islanders had a successful inaugural season in Brooklyn, as they won a playoff series for the first time in 23 years.

The home opener of their second season at Barclays Center is set for Sunday, Oct. 16 against the Anaheim Ducks, followed by six of nine games in October at home. There will be 18 weekend home games throughout the season, with four Friday games, five Saturday games and nine Sunday games at Barclays Center.